Saturday 16 April 2011 19.08 EDT
First published on Saturday 16 April 2011 19.08 EDT

There was little doubt, even several hours before the kick‑off, who wanted it more. No, make that needed it more. And ultimately City's raw hunger for any kind of success proved stronger than the lure of a glittering treble, which began to recede from sight with Dimitar Berbatov's two misses within a single minute of the first half and finally disappeared from view with the enforced departure of Paul Scholes, opening the way for the team from east Manchester's most significant victory over their local rivals since Denis Law's backheel set the seal on United's relegation 37 years ago.

City's fans had poured into north London early in the afternoon while United's hordes were still sauntering through the satnav nightmare imposed by a scrapyard fire under the M1. The light blue masses were in place in the stadium's western half long before their red counterparts had taken their seats, and with that bizarre backs‑to‑the‑pitch dance, borrowed from Lech Poznan, and the dozens of flags, beach balls and inflatable bananas, the City end looked and sounded like a giant street party.

United's support merely stood there, as if this was the kind of spectacle to which they are accustomed every week, warranting no special display of exuberance. If perhaps half of all the United supporters had turned up wearing replica shirts, the figure at the other end must have been closer to 90%.

The enthusiasm of the travellers from Eastlands deserved a better initial reward than City were able to provide in the opening half-hour. For the most part, this was an exposition of the conservatism that has characterised so many of the team's performances since Roberto Mancini's arrival in December 2009, even though the team lined up with only two designated defensive midfield players, Nigel de Jong and Gareth Barry, and with Yaya Touré pushed forward into a creative role alongside David Silva.

For the opening 30 minutes, however, Scholes ran the game from midfield, and only Berbatov's profligacy kept City on level terms. At this stage United's fans were booing City's ponderous midfield interchanges, and jeering when one typically stodgy move ended with De Jong's attempt to release Mario Balotelli running out of play far ahead of its intended target.

City's somnolent attack finally woke up in the 32nd minute. Deprived of Carlos Tevez, his £30m captain and talisman, Roberto Mancini had left the £27m Edin Dzeko on the bench and opted for Balotelli, his £24m enfant terrible. The thought of playing both available strikers together on such a high-stakes occasion would presumably be anathema to the Italian. It was Balotelli's inability to trap a pass from David Silva that presented City with their first chance as Gareth Barry seized on the loose ball and fired a first-time shot on the turn just past the left post.

Two minutes later Balotelli found himself in possession inside the United half, took a couple of paces forward seemingly more in a spirit of inquiry than assertion, then suddenly unleashed a right-foot shot from 30 yards that had Edwin van der Sar leaping to tip the ball over the bar. Soon afterwards Adam Johnson floated a corner past the far post for Joleon Lescott to hammer a first-time volley just too high. And with two minutes of the half left, Vincent Kompany lashed a 25-yard shot narrowly wide.

The balance had shifted City's way, with United's midfield dominance now a thing of memory. It was seven minutes into the second half that the four-times winners landed the decisive blow on the side with 11 victories in the competition.

Van der Sar's weak clearance led to an opening for Yaya Touré, who slid his shot past the veteran goalkeeper, taking a just reward for an individual performance that began quietly but gradually turned into a demonstration of the Ivorian's ability to get himself into the right place at the right time without the apparent need to hurry.

His physical strength, added to that of De Jong and Barry, gradually robbed Scholes not only of his mastery of the central areas but of his composure. With the match into its final quarter, the United man competed for a bouncing ball with Pablo Zabaleta and came a narrow second, stabbing his studs into the Argentinian's thigh.

A rash challenge rather than a malicious one, in all probability, but City would have been justifiably aggrieved by the sight of anything but a straight red card.

As professional footballers, the 36-year-old Scholes and the 20-year‑old Balotelli inhabit not just different generations but different universes. From City's point of view, however, at least their Italian enigma left it until after the final whistle to create mayhem by directing a gratuitously provocative gesture towards United's supporters, whose turn it was to show their backs to the pitch.